Improvement in broom-winding machines



2 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

C. E. LIPE. Broom-Winding Machine.

.No. 222,141. Patented Dec. 2,1879.

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' I Jul/orator 71617023505 I TE H @Xd; /QM%/ N.FETF.RS.PHOTO-UTHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. n C

V the chuck, and Fig. 9, a view of a UNITED STATES PATENT QFFI E.

CHARLES E. LIPE, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT lN BROOM-WINDING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 222,141, datedDecember 2, 1879; application filed August 18, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES E. LIPE, ofSyracuse,in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have inventeda new and valuable Improvement in Broom Winding Machines; and I doherebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, makinga partof this specification, and to the letters and figures of referencethereon.

This invention relates to that class of winding-machines that requiretwo operators on each machine-namely, the feeder, who stands in the rearand prepares the several layers of corn in proper quantities for eachbroom, and the winder, who. stands in front and places the prepared cornon the handle to form a broom; audit consists in certaindevicesforreceiving and carrying the corn from the feeder to a positionin front of the winder, and retaining it there in convenient shape untilthe winder applies it to the broom; also, in certain improvements forguiding the corn from the receiver directly 011 the handle and under thebinding-wire, without being detached and applied in handfuls, as hasbeen necessary in .all machines hitherto in use for this purpose;

also, in improved spotting devices, for spotting the covers as theyproceed from the feeder to the Winder; also, in an improved chuck forholding the handle firmly in the barrel while the. broom is being builtup.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l represents a side elevation of myimproved machine; Fig. 2, a plan or top view; Fig. 3, a sectional viewof the spotting and carrying devices, taken on the line as at, Fig. 1.Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged views of the receiver and bridge. I Figs. 6,7, and 8 are detail views of corn'spear after passing the spotter.

A A represent the frame of my machine, which is preferably made ofcast-iron, and supports in front the hollow mandrel or broombarrel B,which is fitted with a pulley, O, and chuck, to receive and hold thebroom-handle. The main or driving shaft 'D is journaled to the framenear the floor to insure steadiness of motion, and, with proper pulleysand beltjaws to receive their pivot ends.

ing, it gives motion to the barrel B, the spot ter-shaft E, andcarrier-shaft F, power being applied to the pulley G.

The carrying and receiving devices are supported fromone side of themachine sufficiently far away to allow the free passage of the corn, andwill now be described.

The carrier or conveyer consists of an endless belt, H, upon which arearranged two rows of spurs, (t a a and a a 0/. This belt wraps aroundpulley H fast on the shaft F, and around a similar pulley, H runningloose in a proper support, I), secured to the casting I. Motion isimparted to the carrier-belt in the direction of the arrow by means ofthe belt J and pulley j. The casting I projects from the frame outwardbetween the pulleys H and H to the outside edge of belt H, and forms abacking to said belt springing away from the corn along the receiver.

The receiver consists of two flexible metallic strips, 0 c, which extendalong the under side of the belt H between the rows of spurs a and a.The upper strip, 0, is secured in the rear at c to a part of the castingI, and in front at 0 also a projection from I. The lower strip, 0, isfastened in the rear to the table K, and rests 011 a piece 'of rubbertubing, (1, or other elastic substance, the front end being free andbent down over the end of tube d, as shown. A receptacle is thus formedopen at both ends, through which the several layers of corn forming thebroom may be transmitted in succession, subject only to the frictionproduced by the pressure of its flexible sides, and which holds it atany point along its path.

The tube 01 rests in a grooved strip, d, said strip being supported onbrackets e e secured to the frame'A. g

Directly in front of the receiver are pivoted two fingers, L L, in acasting, l, fitted with is fastened to the front end of d. The fingersin their normal position extend forward, their free ends resting on thebroom-handle It, thus forming a bridge from the receiver to the handle,over which the corn is brought down underneath the binding-wire. Whennot in use they are thrown back to the vertical poto keep it from in itspassage This casting sition, as, shown by the dotted lines, restingagainst the receiver. These fingers may be arranged to slide back out ofthe way under the receiver, instead of swinging up, as described. I haveused them made in this way, but prefer the plan shown.

The spotting mechanism is for the purpose of removing a portion of thestalk of the covers. A single cover with the stalk properly cut is shownin Fig. 9. This mechanism consists of an endless belt, M, having aseries of knives, m m, fastened to it at proper intervals, running inthe direction of the arrow over the pulleys f audf. The driving-pulleyfis fast on the shaft E, and derives its motion from the quarter-twistbelt 9, running over pulley g (which is also fast on E) from pulley g onthe driving-shaft D. The outer pulley f is journaled to the free end ofa vibratingarm, N, which swings free upon the shaft E. Said arm N islimited in its upward movement by striking an adjustable stop, 1', anddownward by the projection 7c striking the frame A.

A rod, 0, connects arm N with a foot-treadle, O, pivoted to the frame at0, and extending to the rear convenient to be operated on by the feeder.When the treadle is depressed the arm N is thrown up against the stop i.The upper part of the belt M is horizontal and cuts across the path ofthe corn coming along the receiver. The stop 41 is made adjustable,

so that much or little may be trimmed off the stalk as may be desired.The under surface of the casting I prevents the stalks from lifting awayfrom the spotting-knives.

The object of the vibrating arm N is to allow the spotter-belt to dropaway from the path of the moving corn, when the hurl or outer coveringof the broom is passed along the receiver, which will be hereinaftermore fully explained.

The chuck for holding the handle in the barrel is shown in detail inFigs. 6, 7 and 8. It consists of three loose jaws, a n n, with both endsbeveled, as shown. One end of the jaw is inserted in a short slot in theend of the barrel, the end of the slot being beveled corresponding] y.The other end 'of the jaw bears against one end of a similai' ly-beveledslot in the sleeve P, the jaws being held in position with a tendency toopen by a rubber ring, 1), resting in notches cut in the jaws, as shown.A longitudinal movement of the sleeve toward the barrel causes the jawsto move bodily toward the center, the pressure being equal upon bothbeveled ends. To effect this movement, which requires considerable forceto hold the broom-handle securely, an abutting ring, 1, is bolted to theframe near the bearing b concentric with the barrel and sleeve. Theinside face of this ring is made into aspiral cam. A similar cam, R,provided with a hand-lever and turning loose upon the sleeve P, isplaced between the flan ge 19 and ring It. These cams are so arrangedthat by turning the lever toward the operator, the sleeve is forcedalong the barrel, and the jaws tightened upon the broom-handle. Acollar, (1 upon the barrelprevents it from moving longitudinally withthe sleeve. The jaws prevent the sleeve from turning on the barrel withwhich it revolves. It will be observed that this arrangement createsconsiderable friction between the flange p and lever R; also between thecollar 01 and bearing. This is desirable, as it prevents the barrel fromturning back when not in motion.

The treadle T and tightening-pulley t are arranged to tighten the loosebelt T when it is desired to move the barrel. The building up of thebroom requires short intermittent movements of the barrel completelyunder control and .subject to start and stop at the will of theoperator; Practice has demonstrated this to be a very efficient deviceand admirably adapted to the purpose. Almost any speed may be obtainedon the barrel by gaging the pressure on the treadle and allowing thebelt to partially slip over the pulleys. The wire or cord is broughtdown from the reel S, under the guide-pulley s, which is free to movealong and turn. upon the shaft F to the handle, passing between thefingers L L. The requisite amount of tension is obtained by the use of aconvenient frictiorrbrake, a device common to all winding-machines, andtherefore not shown in drawings.

The underwork, or that part of a broom immediately around the handle, iscomposed of inferior corn and usually put on in three handfuls. Asupport, S, having cavities for holding this corn, (shown in dottedlines in Figs. 1 and 2,) is upheld on a standard secured to the floor ina convenient position for the winder to reach, and is filled by thefeeder, who steps around to the side of the machine for that purpose.All the different grades of corn used are held in racks convenient tothe reach of the feeder.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The winder, securing ahandle in the chuck, attaches the wire and reaching to the support Stransfers in succession to the handle the bunches of underwork placedthere by the feeder. During this operation the bridge L is thrown up tothe dotted position out of the way. The shoulder of the broom isnexttrimmed, when it is ready for .the covers. While the underwork isbeing put on the handle, the feeder selects the proper quantity ofcovers for a broom,,lays them on the table K, properly adjustedlengthwise, and pushes them forward between the strips 0 0 until thespurs on the conveyer, which is traveling in the direction of the arrow,catches them and transports them along to the front. As each succeedingspear arrives at the point e where the spurs leave it and pass up overthe pulley Hit is pushed forward by the one following it, the lastremaining at this point, the space from this one point to the end of thereceiver being long enough to hold covers enough for one broom. Thesecovers may be fed into the receiver singly or in handfuls as the feedermay choose,

provided they do not overlap each other. As they enter the receiver thefeeder raises the spotter by pressing on the treadle O, which spots themoving covers and falls away by its own weight when the covers havepassed and the treadle is released. The covers now-restin the front endof the receiver in a continuous sheet. The winder reaches forward andpulls either a part, or all of them if he be sufficiently expert,forward, striking the bridge L, which is thrown down upon the handle andbroom, as shown. The bridge thus formed supports the covers on their wayto the broom, being held down upon it by the wire. As the coversapproach the handle the barrel is set in motion and the covers pass offthe end of the bridge onto the handle securely bound by the wire. Thewire and bridge form what may be termed a contiuuationof the receiver,the wire corresponding to the upper strip, a, and the bridge to thelower one, o.

While the winder is putting on the covers the feeder is preparing thenext layer of corn,

generally hurl, which is passed through the receiver in the same manneras the covers, but without being acted upon by the spotter.

The action of the spotter, instead of being arbitrary as in all othermachines using spotting mechanism, is made subject to the will of theoperator, thus affording facilities for a greater range and variety ofwork than has beenhitherto practicable on this class of machines.

The hurl being applied to the broom in the same manner as the covers,the bridge is thrown back and thebroom finished in any desired manner.In the mean time the feeder is filling the support S with under-work andthe receiver with covers for another broom.

Some of the advantages of these improvements may be summed up asfollows: The couveyenbelt being always in motion, it is always ready totake corn from the feeder and deposit it in front of the winder withoutfurther looking after. In all machines using carrying belts that moveintermittingly, the winder, when hecomes to put on the corn, will oftenfind it out of his reach, when he must stop and move or cause it to bemoved into position, thus losing a portion of his time which should beemployed in his legitimatework. The combination of a receiver or devicefor holding the prepared corn with a bridge for conveying it directly onthe handle, is an entirelynew feature in winding-machines. The essentialprinciple involved is, that the corn does not leave the control of somefixed portion of the machine. In all other machines the operator has toremove the corn eutirely from the carrying devices before applying it tothe broom. A great saving of time is hereby gained with the additionaladvantage that it requires less skill to operate, being more nearlyautomatic. The movable spotter allows all kinds of corn to be fedthrough the same conveyer, only operating at will. It also spots thecovers from the under side, the side which is placed next the handle.All other spotting devices operate from the upper side, thusnecessitating turning the spotted corn all over before it canbe appliedto the broom.

The foot-treadle and tighteningpulley, although an old mechanicalmovement, is believed to be new in its application to this class ofmachinery.

Ha'ving thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the carrying-belt H with the corn receiving andholding strips 0 0, one above the other, substantially as described, andfor the purpose set forth.

2. In a broom-winding machine, a corn receiver and holder composed oftwo parallel flexible strips, 0 0, combined with the spring d andsupport 61, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a broom-winding machine, a belt, M, provided with spotting-knivescombined with a loose pulley, j", turning on a movable journal, and atable or support for the broom-corn, adapted to move said spotting-beltto and from the path of the corn at will, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the treadle 0, rod 0, vibrating arm N, andportable pulley f, ar-. ranged and combined with a spotting-belt,substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth. v

5. In a broom-winding machine, a movable bridge or corn-guide, L L,suitably attached at one end to the corn-holder c c, and adapted to bemoved forward at will to connect the free end with the broom-handle andgrowing broom for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination of the bridge'fiugers L L, broom-barrel B, andcorn-holder c c, with the wire-spool S, whereby the binding-wire iscaused to issuefroiu and remain in contact with the corn while passingfrom the said holder to the broom.

7. In a broom-winding machine of theclass specified, a continuous anduninterrupted corn carrying and holding device extending from thefeeders table K, in the rear to the broombarrel and handle in front,composed of the carryingbelt H, parallel holdingstrips 0 c,bridge-fiugers L L, and wire guide 8, substantially as described and setforth.

8. The combination of the broom-barrel B, tightening-lever It, abuttingring R, sleeve P, and jawsa a, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

. CHARLES E. LIPE. Witnesses:

T. E. HANCOCK,

HENRY C. HOOKER.

